Notebook won't turn on (due to water spill?)

[DanF]

At first, the client (happened to be my cousin) wanted to re-install Windows on his Acer Extensa 5620Z. Unfortunately, just the day I had to collect the notebook, one of their sons (have triplets, God bless!) spilled water on the laptop. Result = laptop won't turn on.

Tried the basic troubleshooting (ie. powering on without the battery, removing RAM, HDD, other components). Disassembled the notebook to check if there's any visual damages on the motherboard (couldn't spot any irregularities), or if there's still any liquids (couldn't find any).

The notebook's battery LED is green when connected to the power adapter. That's the only hope.

Other than that, I'm lost and not sure of how to proceed.

EDIT: client reported that the battery was discharging pretty fast and was looking into getting a new one. However, should the battery gone bad, then it should turn on while directly connected to the power adapter.

(time to get some sleep, it's 2am)

Thank you in advance

[16k_zx81]

Pull the board out of the chassis. Detach everything except for one known-good RAM.

Attach known good power adapter.

See if it will start by shorting connector on board (if you dont know how to do this,. google it, as you can make more p[roblems if you get it wrong), alternately, if you have a known good power switch from same mode, use that. You're trying to eliminate that its not the power switch - unlikely, but a necessary step before drawing conclusions.

If it does start, then drill down and identify what was stopping it from starting, adding components one by one out of chassis.

If it doesnt start, board is stuffed. Replace board.

[NYJimbo]

Originally Posted by DanF

At first, the client (happened to be my cousin) wanted to re-install Windows on his Acer Extensa 5620Z. Unfortunately, just the day I had to collect the notebook, one of their sons (have triplets, God bless!) spilled water on the laptop. Result = laptop won't turn on.

Do what 16k_zx81 said. Just be aware that all different voltages are passing through the motherboard, its not just what you see going into the DC jack. If you pour a liquid on it you pretty much send all different voltages to different parts of the board which shouldnt get it. A circuit that should only get 3 volts should not be getting 20 volts or more. Death is instant and often not detectable to the human eye.

If the mobo is dead you might want to also be concerned that other components are dead. Usually the mobo, keyboard, DVD drive and sometimes WIFI or hard drive can be cooked at the same time. Try to determine the location and amount of water and you will get a better idea if its worth repairing.

[DanF]

Thank you for your replies

I've took the whole board out. Turned it on and the fan span for like 2 seconds, then off.

No signs of liquids.

EDIT: The service manual helped me through: http://www.scribd.com/doc/13062016/A...Service-Manual

[DanF]

The only know good-working component is the hard drive, as I've connected that to another system.

Although it looks like it's definitely a motherboard issue, I'm passing this to a third party company that is the authorized Acer service center over here, in order to confirm that it's actually the motherboard and not something silly I'm missing (although I am pretty sure it is not). I hope this decision is the best for my client.

The client said the water was spilled over the keyboard, but I couldn't find any liquids or any signs of damage caused by this. I will keep you guys informed.